How did Italy become a shipbuilding superpower?

Italian boatbuilders have continued to top the order book tables year after year, producing nearly half of the world’s luxury yachts. Gabrielle Lazaridis discovers the secrets behind the country’s success…

The Italian heritage is one of art, beauty and exploration. Gifted with 8,000 kilometres of coastline, developing a close relationship with the sea allowed Italy to export its influence beyond its borders, giving life to an expansive history of maritime tradition. Italy, to this day, remains the shipbuilding epicentre of the world and is home to some of the oldest and most esteemed shipyards, the likes of Codecasa, Baglietto and Benetti, all of which established operations on the west coast of Italy in the 1800s. Over the next century, the focus of these shipyards transitioned from military and commercial production to the construction of larger pleasure craft, laying out a number of key innovations that would eventually give rise to the modern superyacht.